Re: [情報] Jennifer Batten談MJ

看板KingofPop作者ChesterB (很難想)時間14年前 (2010/03/06 13:26)推噓20(20推 0噓 2→)

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http://tinyurl.com/yhk2csd Jennifer Batten Reflects On Working With MJ Source: MJFC / swafnews.com 這篇應該是完整版訪問文章很不錯但超長 (5-3-10) It was one year ago today that Michael Jackson announced plans for the 'This Is It' concert run at a press conference at London's O2 arena. To mark the anniversary, Charles Thomson sat down with Jackson's long-time guitarist Jennifer Batten, to talk about what it was really like behind the scenes on a Michael Jackson tour. Jennifer談到了和MJ三大巡迴的幕後 Batten was Jackson's lead guitarist for a decade, accompanying the star on all three of his record-breaking world tours. At just 29 years old she was plucked from complete obscurity by the King of Pop. As impossible as it sounds, before Batten joined Jackson, her touring experience was limited almost exclusively to a brief spell with an Elvis impersonator. 在參加MJ的巡迴前她僅有的巡迴經驗是和貓王的模仿者一起 "We played down in American Samoa of all places," she laughs. "He had a brother that was a missionary on the island, so he set up the gig. Then we did another stint in Colorado because he had a brother there too. That was it." 我們在美屬薩摩爾島各處表演因為他有哥哥在那裡當傳教士然後我們去了科羅拉多因為他也有個哥哥在那就只有這樣 Inspired by blues legends like BB King and Brownie McGee, Batten began playing guitar at the tender age of eight. As a young woman she attended the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles where she was the only girl. Jennifer八歲開始學吉他她去的音樂學院只有她一個女孩 "I was the only woman with 60 guys," she says. "I didn't have a problem with it. I could go practice in the bathroom because you get the natural reverb in there and I knew I wouldn't be bothered." 我是唯一的女生但我對此沒有任何問題我會在浴室練習因為有很好的回音而且我知道沒人會來干擾我 BAD TOUR After the Elvis gigs she lived for several years in San Diego, playing in cover bands before heading to Los Angeles in search of success on the music scene. It wasn't long before she began teaching at her former school, the Musicians Institute. It was there - on one fateful day in 1987 - that Michael Jackson's representatives called asking for musicians to attend tour auditions. Batten recalls, 在和貓王模仿者表演玩她在聖地亞哥住了幾年在幾個翻唱團演奏之後去洛杉磯尋找機會在1987年的某天她聽到了MJ在尋找樂手參加他的巡迴 "They were auditioning about a hundred people so it was pretty intense. When I went, there was just a video camera, no band. The only guidance I was given was to play some funk rhythm stuff so I did that, then I finished off with the Beat It solo because I had been playing that for years in cover bands. I think ultimately that's what got me the gig." 那次的面試有上百人當我去的時候那裡只有一個錄影機唯一的指示是我要彈一些放可的節奏我彈了最後我彈了Beat it的獨奏我之前在翻唱團彈過這首很多年我想這是為何我被選上的原因 Batten says that earning her place on Jackson's Bad Tour in 1987 changed her life. 她說參與MJ1987年的BAD巡演改變了她的一生 "It was like a paid vacation. I had been teaching and gigging pretty much seven nights a week and all of a sudden I'm on the biggest tour in the world making ten times the money and only working two or three days a week!" 那就像是去一個人家幫你出錢的渡假我之前的生活是要每晚教吉他和到處演出而突然我在全世界最大的巡演賺十倍的錢而一週只要工作兩三天 Rehearsals began immediately and they were brutal; seven days a week for two solid months. For the first month the band, singers and dancers would rehearse separately. They all came together for the second month in a production studio, where every element of the show came alive. It was here that Batten first met Michael Jackson. 排演馬上開始而且過程是很嚴苛的每週七天都要排練整整兩個月第一個月樂團合音舞者是分開來排演的第二個月大家才會合而整個演出變活了起來是那時候Jennifer第一次見到了MJ "We heard that if he liked the music he'd start dancing and he did as soon as he walked through the door. We stopped and people who hadn't met him before were introduced to him. I remember seeing his manager Frank Dileo come in with the ponytail and the cigar. It was kind of surreal seeing the two of them together. I just remember Michael looked gorgeous close up. He was just beautiful. 我們聽說如果他喜歡那音樂的話他就會開始跳舞他一走進門就開始跳舞了我們停下來讓他認識沒見過他的人我記得看到他的經紀人Frank Dileo留著馬尾抽著雪茄看到他們兩人在一起有點不真實我只記得近看MJ他棒級了他很beautiful XD "He was very much hands on and he was an extremely hard worker. By the end of rehearsals we were running the show a minimum of once a day, sometimes twice. I would say that's the number one thing I learned from him: the value of rehearsing that much and that intensely, because by the time we hit the stage everybody was relaxed." 他參與了很多東西是個極度認真工作的人我們每天都會排演整個演出一次有時甚至一天兩次我會說我第一個跟他學到的事情就是這門密集頻繁的排演的重要性因為當正式上台時大家就變得很放鬆 Batten recalls opening night in Tokyo saying, 她回憶在東京巡演第一天晚上 "I'd never played for that many people before. On the road Michael took it up another notch. I mean, he was pretty full out at the last rehearsals anyway but that extra excitement of knowing there are people going nuts watching you... There's an extra amount of fire that you can feel onstage with everybody doing their best and trying to give 110%." 我從沒在這麼多人面前表演過正式登場時 MJ把一切帶向另一個境界雖然他在最後一次排演時已經情緒很高昂了但是當你知道這麼多人看著你陷入瘋狂更是加了更多火花特別是你知道所有人都盡了110%的努力達到最好 But soon after hitting the road, Batten says she discovered a more sinister side to working with Michael Jackson. 但在他們巡迴後他才發現跟MJ工作麻煩的一面 "I was approached in the beginning by somebody who said I could make a lot of money by talking to the National Enquirer. I was just appalled. I thought 'that is just sick', you know? I just got this great gig. Why would I sabotage it like that? It seemed like a really evil thing to do." 一開始就有人跟接洽說我可以跟National Enquirer爆料來賺一大筆錢我很震驚我覺得這太噁心了我才剛拿到這麼好的巡迴機會我為什麼要破壞他這是一個很邪惡的事 Batten grew to feel sorry for Jackson, who she says was trapped by his celebrity. 她為MJ感到難過她認為他被他的名氣所困 "If he wanted to go anywhere he had to alert the security and he had to really have it planned in advance. If he wanted to go to a store they would have to be called and shut it down for him. He was a prisoner of the hotel room, really." 如果他要去哪他要先告訴保全然後他事先要好好計畫如果他要去商店他們必需先打電話關閉整個店他基本上是旅館中的囚犯 Batten says Jackson compensated by treating himself and his entire entourage to special excursions. Sometimes he had theme parks closed to the public so that he and his team could have some fun without being hounded. 但MJ會招待他自己和整個團隊特別行程他會讓整個主題樂園關閉只有他們才能進去玩 "He did it first at the Tokyo Disneyland. That was just unbelievable. We would go on the rollercoaster rides and when we were done they would just ask us, 'Do you want to go around again?' We were very, very spoiled." 第一次是在東京迪斯尼太不可思義了我們會玩雲霄飛車結束後他們會問我們還要再玩一次嗎? 我們整個被寵壞了 The Bad Tour ended in January 1989 and the group disbanded. In later years Sheryl Crow, who worked as a back-up singer on the tour, would make several disparaging remarks about Jackson during interviews publicizing her own work. Crow called Jackson a diva who never bothered to learn people's names. Batten refutes this saying, 1989年 BAD巡演結束大家解散了不久後Sheryl Crow是那次巡演的合音在宣傳自己唱片時的幾個訪問指責了MJ 他說MJ是個天王完全懶得去記其他人的名字 "I think singers in general are just nuts and ultra-sensitive. One night Michael called Sheryl 'Jennifer'," she giggles, "and I know that pissed her off. But it's like, so what? I mean, you got the biggest gig in the world and it's not like Michael was unaware of who was onstage with him. We were with him for a friggin' year and a half." 我認為很多歌手基本上是瘋子而且太過敏感了有個晚上MJ把她叫Jennifer 我知道她氣炸了但這重要嗎要知道你拿到了世界最大的巡演而且又不是MJ搞不清楚誰在台上我們可跟他巡迴了一年半 DANGEROUS TOUR 危險之旅 In 1992 Batten was called back to work on Jackson's Dangerous Tour. Batten says Jackson seemed like 'the same Michael,' if slightly more fatigued. 92年她被MJ找回參加危險之旅她覺得MJ還是原來的MJ 不過更疲勞 "I noticed that he was busier and I remember that one time he came to rehearsals and just apologized for not having been there the last few days. He said, 'I was just showered with meetings' and he just repeated it with emotion, 'meeting after meeting after meeting'." 我發覺他更忙了我記得有一次他來排演然後為前幾天沒能來排演道歉他說我被會議淹沒了他一直說一個會議接著一個會議 Jackson's heavy schedule dictated that he was limited in his rehearsal time, which meant that much of the set list was simply carried over from the Bad Tour. Batten said this was a little disappointing to the band because they all wanted to play the new stuff. One of the few new tracks - Remember The Time - was cut from the show after a wardrobe malfunction. She laughs saying, MJ忙碌的行程導致他縮短排練的時間所以大部分的曲目跟BAD相似而這讓樂團有點失望因為他們很想演奏些新東西 Remeber The Time後來被剪掉因為服裝有問題 "They had Egyptian costumes and the male dancers had these skirt kind of things. The first time we did it one of the dancers' costumes fell off. That was a little disturbing to Michael." 他們有類似埃及的服裝那些男舞者有類似裙子的東西我們第一次排演時有一個舞者的服裝掉了我想MJ覺得有點困擾 (就因為這樣這首就沒演出過了?!坐著版不算) Unfortunately, the wardrobe malfunctions didn't end in rehearsals. Speaking about that enormous fibre-optic headdress Batten says, 不幸的是服裝問題在正式演出時也發生了 "At the end of Beat It everybody would run out on the stage," she remembers. "Invariably, I would be running at full force and somebody would step on my fibre-optic cable - it would pretty much knock my head off. That was kind of a drag." 在Beat it最後大家都要跑上舞台我正用全速奔跑而有人踩中了連在我身上的電線基本上是把我整頭都扯掉了扯的超大力的 Talking about the end of each show when Jackson would exit the stage on a jet pack, floating over the audience's heads Batten said, 而講到結尾MJ會火箭人消失 "He wanted to come out with the biggest show on earth. He wanted it to be like Christmas for people. His imagination was like a creative tornado. He would come up with his wildest dreams and then hire people to carry it out. It was really amazing to be a part of that." 他想要全世界上最大的演出他想要帶個人們像聖誕節的氣氛他的創造力就像龍捲風一樣他會想出最瘋狂的點子然後找人來實現能參與其中太棒了 SUPER BOWL PERFORMANCE 超級盃中場表演 In January 1993 Batten accompanied Jackson for his legendary Super Bowl performance, which was watched by 1.5 billion people. She says, 93年Jennifer和MJ演出了超級盃中場有1.5億人收看 "I'll tell you, it was the only time I ever saw Michael nervous. It's live and there's only the time of a couple of potato chip commercials to get the stage out into the field. There's one scene where I'm on the corner of the stage with Michael and there's so much fog coming out that we both get lost for a second, but that's the beauty of live gigs. You never know what's going to happen. That was one of my favorite times because it was a one-off special thing that will never be repeated." 這是我唯一一次看到MJ緊張這是現場直播而只有很短的廣告時間能把舞台弄到球場上有一瞬間我和MJ站在一個角落而有太多霧跑出來我們兩個瞬間都有點迷失了但這就是現場直播迷人之處你永遠不知會發生甚麼那次是我最喜歡的時刻因為那一刻永遠無法被複製 After the Super Bowl there was a long break before the second leg of the Dangerous Tour. It was during the second leg that allegations of child abuse were leveled at Jackson. Batten says matter-of-factly, 在超級盃和危險之旅第二輪巡迴之間有很長的空檔在第二輪巡迴時MJ被指控孿童案 "I figured it was an extortion case, which I still figure it is. Everybody was concerned about him. I think it pains all of us that he was so attacked and so unfairly. Most artists are sensitive and he was talented times ten, so ultra sensitive, and to be slung that kind of stuff... I mean, you can hear it in his lyrics. It's a real drag because you wonder what kind of music he would have come up with if people weren't attacking him like that." 我認為這是個勒索的案件我現在還是這樣覺得大家都很擔心他我們都因為他被這麼不公平的攻擊而痛苦很多藝術家都很敏感而他的天賦是十倍所以他更是非常敏感的人而被這樣殘酷對待你可以在他的歌詞中聽見你不禁會想如果人們沒這樣攻擊他的話他會寫出甚麼不同的音樂呢 "Honestly, I think it would have been considered uncool among the press to take Michael's side. I think it would take a brave soul to do that, which is really sad. Really pathetic. Even at the 2005 trial... I know people who were inside the courtroom and then they would watch the news at night and it was complete lies." 老實說我認為如果有媒體願意站在MJ這邊就會被認為是不對的要有足夠的勇氣才能做到這很悲哀即使是05年的審判我知道有人白天在法院晚上回家看新聞內容都是謊言 HIStory TOUR 歷史之旅 In 1996 Batten was brought back onboard for the HIStory Tour, although she recalls that it was 'very last minute.' 96年Jennifer在最後一秒被找回歷史之旅巡演 "I got hired a week before I was supposed to start rehearsals, which was a real scramble. It was just nuts. I had to cancel some work." 我是在彩排前一週才被雇用的一切都很瘋狂我必須取消一些工作 The tour brought with it more costume problems for Batten, who describes her black latex get-up as 'just dreadful.' 這次的服裝問題更大了他形容自己這次的皮衣實在太恐怖了 "That mask I had to wear was just ugh... ghastly. Somebody had shown Michael an art book that was kind of S&M based and all the paintings looked really beautiful. So he had that in mind but when it came to real life it wasn't too beautiful anymore," she laughs. "I just had to remind myself that it was all about the theatre, you know? It's not just about the music." 我要戴的那個面具實在恩很陰森有人給MJ一個S&M為內容的美術冊裡面的畫作都很美所以他記在心中但真的做出來時就不再美了我只能提醒自己一切都是戲劇效果而不只是音樂而已 Batten says Jackson got ready for each concert by warming up his voice. 她說MJ每場演唱會前都要暖嗓 "Every night he'd be warming up with his vocal coach. You could hear him doing arpeggios from his dressing room." 每天晚上他都會跟他聲音教練暖嗓你可以聽到他在更衣室內唱音階 The guitarist says that initially she was alarmed by Jackson's decision to end each concert flanked on either side by young children. 她說剛開始她覺得MJ每天晚上演唱會結束的方式不太好 "At the end of the show he would disappear down an elevator in the stage with a little boy and a little girl. At first I thought, 'God, because of the allegations you'd think he wouldn't do that'. But then I thought, 'You know what, he hasn't done anything wrong so why the hell should he change his life?' I think that was a little bit of giving a finger to his critics." 結束時他會和一個小女孩和一個小男孩降入台下一開始我想因為那些指控他不該這樣做的但後來我又想他又沒做錯甚麼為什麼他要改變他的生活呢我覺得這是他對那些批評的反擊 The HIStory Tour lasted into the Summer of 1997 and would mark the end of the pair's working relationship, but Batten says she never felt disappointed that he didn't bring her back. 歷史之旅結束在97年的夏天這是他們最後一次合作 Jennifer說他並未因MJ沒再找他而失望 "I would just go off and work on my own career. If he calls, great, and if he doesn't, great. It's been a great ride with him anyway." 我就繼續我自己的工作如果他邀請我了很棒沒有也很棒能跟他一起演出很棒 MICHAEL'S DEATH MJ的去世 Batten was in her car on June 25, 2009 when someone called to tell her about rumors of Jackson's death. 那天他在車上有人打電話告訴他這個消息 "I didn't really believe it when he told me because I had heard so many rumors about Michael over the years, false alarms about everything. I thought, 'Yea, right'. I saw it was true when I got home and I had mixed feelings. I was sad but in a way I thought power to him for going to the other side, because of all the torture that had come at him. I just can't imagine living with that." 當他告訴我時我不相信這麼多年我聽了太多MJ的謠言各種事情的假警報當時我想最好是這樣啦當我回家發現是真的我有很複雜的心情我很難過但我又為他能去另一個世界感到高興因為他承受太多折磨了我無法想像該怎麼活著過那樣的日子 In the weeks after Jackson's death Batten says she was unable to watch the media coverage, knowing how much of it would be slanted. 在MJ去世後的一週他說他無法看新聞因為他知道有多少會被扭曲 "They were respectful for about two or three hours and then they turned it into a tabloid festival. I just couldn't watch it. There were a lot of specials on about him and once in a while I would turn one on and it was just shit. I guess it makes money to just bring up negativity and stir up controversy but it's pathetic and I just can't watch it. It's all about money now, not about truth. People can be very cold." 他們只在最初的兩三個小時展現他們對他的尊崇之後就變成了八卦慶典我無法看那些有很多他相關的特別節目有時我會打開電視看然後發現都是狗屎我想只提到一堆負面新聞和爭議點才會賺錢這太悲哀了我看不下去一切只跟錢有關而非事實人們有時可以非常殘酷 Unlike some of Jackson's friends and family, Batten says she was able to bring herself to watch 'This Is It,' even if she did have mixed feelings about it. 不像MJ很多的親朋好友她說她能去看This is it 雖然看時心情很複雜 "I hadn't seen any video of him for years and just to see his talent, even when he wasn't going full out, the way he sang 'Human Nature' was just chilling. The way his body moves - there was just no other dancer in the world that was like that. So I enjoyed it." 我已經很多年沒看過他的影片了光只看他的天賦即使他沒有出全力他唱Human Nature時讓我起雞皮疙瘩他身體的動作這世界沒有另一個舞者像他一樣所以我享受觀看這部電影呼~~~ 好長 -- In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. In a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe. ~~~~By Michael Jackson -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 76.114.192.166

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